Light Fiction

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Best of the light fiction th has arrived this month is Hek Maclnnes’ The Venetian Affai Like her other novels, it American in flavour but Eun pean in background.

MOST of this writer’s novels got into the best-seller list and although they are technical thrillers, they are exceptions to tl rule that this type of writing a succeed only if it is violent and h a bed-to-bed description of the here sex life.

The Venetian Affair, like Decisu at Delphi and North from Rom depends on good writing, the suspen of normal people drawn into tl whirlpool of international intrigi and an authentic travelogue bac ground.

Hero of the present novel is B Fenner, a well-set up young Amei can, drama critic on a New Yo newspaper. When he leaves on month’s holiday in France to stu< the local theatre, he does n anticipate that he’ll find hims« involved in one of those Them ai Us dramas that could shatter tl Western world.

But when he picked up the wroi raincoat at Orly airport it was tl beginning of a trail that led to son strange quarters of Paris and endi amongst the canals of the romanl city of Venice.

(The Venetian Affair. Publish

by Collins. 26/-.) * * * Peter Cowan is a latter-day Au tralian story teller and any r semblance between his style and th of Frank Dalby Davison is purely the scenery.

Summer is the story of peop rather than places, and of Har; Simpson in particular—although it the kind of novel in which yc don’t find out his name uni Chapter 5.

Simpson’s marriage has broken i and although he doesn’t appear i have done very much to prevent i he goes off into the country to “fir himself”. There, in the hot sun <

Zest Australian wheat-siding, he’s py for a time with wheat lumping solitude. The only other people miles around are a storekeeper his wife and there sex raises jgly head again and provides the id of the story.

SUMMER. Published by Angus and ertson Ltd. 21/-.) * * * he friends of writer Jane Duncan ear to be endless and turn up veen the covers of a novel at ever reasing intervals. My Friend Rose he latest of them, lot only the beautifully vulgar e inhabits this book, however, nerous other of My Friends vd in to make the whole thing a more complicated than is mal to Miss Duncan’s chatty inine style. iIY FRIEND ROSE. Published by Millan. 26/-.) ♦ ♦ * 'iona Sinclair was an actress until started writing Whodunnits some rs ago. She died tragically at end of 1961 and the manuscript Three Slips of a Noose was sub aently found amongst her papers, il thriller addicts will find gaps a e wide in her technique as a stery writer but there is some ;rest in the strange, “stagey” and lewhat unreal characters who ry the plot.

Fhree Slips To A Noose. Pub

ed by Bles (our copy from Collins).

B.) ♦ * * n contrast to the above, Jan ffman writes like a writer—she 3 a police-roundsman on a London vspaper for 20 years until she gave up to write her own murder steries. Likely to Die is a piece good writing apart from its ister question; Who killed Edward mmond? His brother’s widow? 5 illegitimate son? His step ighter? Poor hen-pecked Albert? could have been anyone. —Judy dor.

LIKELY TO DIE. Published by Geoffrey s (our copy from Collins. 17/-.)

All prices quoted are in Aus tralian currency unless otherwise stated.